Weed-puller.



J. DAHL.

WEED FULLER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.1B, 1911.

W Jae 5 55]? UNITED STATES PATENT @EFTCE.

JACOB DAI-IL, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-THIRD TO MARTIN DAHLAND ONE-THIRD TO RICHARD W. POELMA, BOTH OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WEED-FULLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

Application filed. August 18, 1911. Serial No. 644,844.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AOOB DAHL, citizen of the United States, residingat Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in lVeed-Pullers, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invention relates to a weed-puller, and its object is to produce adevice of simple construction which, by pushing on the handle of thedevice, will cause a blade to be inserted into the ground and willsimultaneously open the grappling jaw preparatory to grasping the weed,and which when the handle is pulled will cause said grappling jaw totake hold of the weed and pulls the same out of the ground.

My invention comprises a staff having a blade upon the lower end thereofupon which is pivoted a grappling jaw, said stafi having telescopicallymounted upon its end a sleeve which carries a handle, a rod being usedto operatively connect said sleeve and grappling jaw, whereby a downwardthrust upon said sleeve opens said aw and an upward pull thereon closessaid jaw.

My invention may be more readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of thedevice, the dotted lines indicating the positions assumed by the partswhen the sleeve is telescoped on the staff; and Fig. 2 is a similar viewat right angles to Fig. 1.

Similar figures of reference refer to similar parts throughout thedrawings.

The staii 1 of wood or other suitable material terminates at its lowerend in a metal blade 2 which is preferably provided with a pointed end 3in order that it may be more readily inserted in the ground. The blade 2is slotted near its upper end and a lever 4 extends through the slot,being pivoted to said blade. The lower end of the lever carriesagrappling jaw 5. Telescopically mounted upon the upper end of the staif1 is a metallic sleeve 6 provided at its upper end with a hand-hold orhandle 7. A steel rod 8 is secured at its upper end to the sleeve 6 andis pivoted at its lower end to the upper end of the lever 4. The rod 8throughout the greater portion of its length preferably lies in parallelrelation to the staff 1 and is bent at its lower end 9 away from thestafi 1 so as to connect with the lever 4 at some distance from theblade 2, and thereby to provide greater leverage for operating thegrappling jaw 5. The sleeve 6 is normally spring-thrust into itsnon-telescoping position. F or this purpose a coiled spring 10 ispreferably employed, such spring being secured at its upper end by ascrew 11 to the shaft 1 and at its lower end to the lever 4. The springthus normally holds the grappling jaw 5 in its grappling engagement withthe jaw 2.

In use the point 3 of the blade is placed on the ground at the root ofthe weed to be pulled. Downward pressure upon the handle 7 causes thesleeve 6 to telescope against the tension of the spring 10, thusexerting suflicient thrust on the blade 2 to cause the point of theblade to enter the ground. At the same time the grappling jaw 5 isthrown open, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, whereby the stalkof the weed can be placed between the jaw 5 and the blade 2. Upon thedownward pressure being removed from the handle 7 the spring 10 causesthe blade 5 to clamp the stalk against the blade 2. Thereupon an upwardpull on the handle 7 pulls the weed thus grappled. The weed, as isobvious, can be released by a slight down ward movement of the sleeve 6.

What I claim is:

1. A weed-puller comprising a staff terminating at its lower end in ablade, a lever pivoted to said blade and carrying a grappling jaw uponits lower end adapted to cooperate with said blade, a sleevetelescopically mounted upon the upper end of said staff, a handlecarried upon the upper end of said sleeve, a rod pivoted to the upperend of said lever and operatively connecting said sleeve and said lever,and a spring normally holding said sleeve in its non-telescopingposition; whereby a downward pressure upon said handle will effect adownward thrust of said blade and will simultaneously throw open saidgrappling jaw against the tension of said spring.

2. A weed-puller comprising a staff terminating at its lower end in ablade having a slot near its upper end, a lever extending through saidslot and pivoted to said blade, said lever carrying a grappling jaw uponits lower end, a coil spring secured at its upper end to said staff andat its lower end to In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe said leverabove its pivotal point, a sleeve my name this 22nd day of May, A. 1).,1911. telescopically mounted upon the upper end L of said stall a handlecarried upon the up- JACOB DAHL' per end of said sleeve, and a rodsecured to Witnesses: SitlCl sleeve and plvoted at lts lower end to E.F. SUTER, the upper end or sald lever. A. T. VING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

